Project Safe Start: School Zones Should Be Safe Zones

Project Safe Start: School Zones Should Be Safe Zones As the summer winds down and children are preparing to head back to school, the Halton Regional Police Service is getting ready to launch Project Safe Start. This will be the 11th year the Service has conducted their homegrown campaign, which focuses on education, awareness and high-visibility enforcement of traffic laws in and around school zones throughout Halton Region. This annual campaign is two weeks long and focuses on the period during which children are returning to school. This year’s campaign will run between Monday, August 27 and Friday, September 7, 2018. School zones should be safe zones. Officers are reminding motorists that over 100,000 students return to school in Halton Region on Tuesday, September 4, 2018. Motorists should be on heightened alert for increased pedestrian and vehicular traffic in and around school zones. It is important to remember driving safely is your priority: Drive at a safe speed. Aggressive driving such as speeding, tailgating and failing to comply with road signs increase the likelihood of a collision. Aggressive driving reduces your reaction time and makes your vehicle movements unpredictable to other drivers. Be aware of your surroundings when driving. There are three types of distractions: taking your eyes off the road, taking your hands off the wheel and taking your mind off driving. Holding your cellular phone in your hands is an offence, regardless of whether you are talking on it, using the navigation system or changing a song. This is still applicable when stopped at a red light. Did you know that texting while driving increases the risk of a collision by 23 times? Drive responsibly. Drug-impaired driving and alcohol-impaired driving can result in serious injury or death to you, your loved ones and other road users. Impairment slows your ability to react to changing road conditions. Drinking before driving and any form of drug use will affect your ability to drive. Halton residents have ranked traffic concerns as their #1 policing priority. Project Safe Start is just one of the various campaigns that the Halton Regional Police Service engages in throughout the year in an effort to educate the public and enforce the Highway Traffic Act and other traffic-related legislation. Sergeant Ryan Snow, Traffic Services Unit: “Safe Start is our annual back-to-school traffic safety project in Halton. All motorists within Halton Region have a role to play in traffic safety, especially as children return to class at one of the over 160 educational facilities in the Region. Children are our most vulnerable road users. Regardless of who is at fault, when a vehicle collides with a pedestrian or cyclist, tragic consequences usually result. Motorists are encouraged to slow down, drive sober and avoid using your cell phone at all times when driving. All children deserve to attend school – safely.” Pedestrians, cyclists, motorists and police all play an integral role in ensuring safer roads within the Halton Region. We thank the community for doing their part to ensure school zones are a safe place to be.